What a difference a year makes: last December, Swedish death metal icons In Flames were blown off the stage by their opening band (Gojira) in Baltimore; last May, North Carolinian prog-metallers Between the Buried and Me played to a disinterested audience of Dream Theater fans at DAR Constitution Hall. On Monday at a packed 9:30 Club, BTBAM satisfied a crowd full of fans screaming, "You guys should headline this tour!" while In Flames more than matched BTBAM, with exponentially more energy than they had at that Baltimore show last winter.

More photos after the jump and at the full gallery.

In Flames:

Between the Buried and Me:

3 Inches of Blood:

The Faceless:

Full gallery here.

The band: 3 Inches of Blood
The album: Fire Up the Blades
Observe:

What caught our eye: The blades! There are many. There are also maces, arrowheads, and flails. All of which serve to indicate that 3 Inches of Blood does not, under any circumstances, fuck around. Also noteworthy: the jewel case sports a sticker (not pictured) teasing three songs no audiophile can live without: "The Goatriders Horde," "Night Marauders," and "Forest King."

Digging a little deeper: The Vancouver metal troupe's sophomore release features a Roadrunner Records PSA on the inside flap: "STOP THE MADNESS. DRUGS ARE NO FUN. DRUGS ENDANGER THE LIFE AND HAPPINESS OF MILLIONS. IT MUST STOP. WE APPEAL IN PARTICULAR TO THE YOUTH OF TODAY. STOP THE MADNESS. THERE ARE BETTER THINGS IN LIFE." Wusses.

Taste rating: 3/10 (insufficiently distasteful). Despite the impressive selection of daggers, cudgels, broadswords, &c., the presentation itself is rather static. Could the blades in question actually draw blood? Are they indeed "fired up"? And, come to think of it: Is three inches of blood really that much? The answer to all three is a resounding "meh."

Will "Judging a Disc" exclusively lampoon derivative metal groups? No. But it's pretty easy.